The Intruders
by believable-pen
Summary: Jack has  boring worm in his head. Owen cuts it out, but are there more...
1. Chapter 1

**The Intruders**

**Jack was busy in his office while the rest of the team chatted over a cup of Ianto's coffee. He could hear them from his office and it was beginning to annoy him. Getting up, he walked to his door. "Haven't you got any work to do? Ianto, tourist office. Gwen, liaison with Andy. Tosh, translate that document. Owen, I need that inventory done. Move, all of you!"**

**"What's rubbed him up the wrong way this morning, Ianto." asked Owen.**

**Ianto went straight to the tourist office and opened up. He was sure Jack was in a good mood when they got up this morning. He frowned and then opened the door. He looked outside. Typical Cardiff weather...rain and mist. Going back inside, he logged on to the computer and opened up his e-mail box, then Create. He started to type... **

_**Grumpy aren't we? Though there was only one side to get out of your bed :) See you for lunch...unless you call me up sooner [please] love you IJ x **_

**Jack heard the e-mail arrive and clicked on it. He read it, his face flushing red. Standing up, he walked to the office door, down the stairs and out the cog door. He got into the lift and then walked up to the tourist offices secret door. Not caring if anyone was in with Ianto, he pushed the door open.**

**"Don't take our relationship as a sign to send stupid e-mails. I am your boss during the day. Remember that." Then he walked off. **

**"Jack? Jack!" Ianto went after him, catching him by the lift. "What's got into you? I'm sorry, okay. I shouldn't have sent the e-mail. But a few days ago, you didn't complain." He shook his head. "I have never taken you for granted because of our relationship, and you know I never would. I resent your accusation." Ianto went back to the tourist office, really pissed at Jack. **

**Jack leaned back against the wall of the lift. He couldn't understand why he was feeling this way. He was happy when he woke beside Ianto this morning. They'd made love. Showered together. Had coffee before anyone else arrived. Now he was seething, but he didn't know why and it bothered him.**

**Going back up to his office, Jack opened his Create in his e-mail box and started to type...**

_**I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. Come up at lunchtime and I promise, I'll make it up to you. Love you. CJH xx **_

**Ianto heard the 'You Got Mail' jingle, but ignored it because he had a client in with him. As soon as he as alone, he opened it. A faint smile crossed his face, but he would still make his Captain grovel.**

**Owen went up to the office with a piece of paper. "Here's the inventory you requested." He put it on Jack's desk and went to leave.**

**"I've…been having these headaches."**

**Owen turned. "What headaches? How bad are they?"**

**"Pretty bad. At the back," Jack put his hand at the back of his neck. "I haven't told Ianto."**

**"You better come down to the autopsy room and let me check you over. Better scan for anything out of the ordinary." Owen eyes Jack. "You are never ill, Jack."**

**Jack nodded and followed Owen. "I know. Don't tell the others."**

**"They'll see you with me."**

**"Tell 'em it's a routine medical."**

**"Right. Captain Jack Harkness has a medical." Owen laughed.**

**"I don't want Ianto to know. Not til I know what it is. He's already pissed at me."**

**"You were a little touchy earlier." Owen eyed him. "The headache cause that?"**

**Jack nodded.**

**"When did it start?"**

**"A week ago. It's just got worse over the last few hours."**

**"Since you got up this morning?"**

**"Yeah."**

**When they reached the autopsy room, Owen indicated to the table. "Lay down. I'll scan your head."**

**Jack got up on the table and laid down.**

**Owen ran the scanner over his head. "Wow!"**

**"What?"**

**"You have something just above your spinal cord."**

**"What is it?"**

**"Don't know. Looks worm-like."**

**"Can you take it out?"**

**"What, now?"**

**"You have to. I can feel it growing. It has to come out, Owen."**

**Owen nodded. "Turn on your side. I'll give you a local."**

**Owen prepared the injection just as Ianto came through the cog door.**

**"Ianto!" said Owen, on seeing him.**

**Ianto looked from Owen to Jack. "What's going on? Jack?"**

**Ianto hurried down to be beside Jack. **

**"I have something growing in my head. Owen is going to remove it."**

**Ianto looked at Owen. **

**"It's by his spinal cord."**

**"You can take it out, right?"**

**Owen shrugged. "That might be the easy bit." He indicated to a beaker with a lid. "Get that ready when I take it out of Jack. I need to know what it is." **

**Ianto opened the beaker and stood the other side of the table.**

**Owen cut into Jack's neck and took out the worm-like thing, dropping it into the beaker.**

**Ianto quickly put the lid on, as if writhed to get out.**

**"Jesus! What is that?" said Owen.**

**"Bring it over here, Ianto," said Tosh. "I'll see if I can find it in the catalogue."**

**Tosh brought up a catalogue of all the alien life they had seen thus far. It wasn't there.**

**Owen stitched Jack up and he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the table.**

**"Let me take a look," he said to Tosh.**

**Tosh handed the beaker back to Ianto, who took it to Jack.**

**"Bromlian boring worm. Burrows into a host, takes it over. Moves on."**

**"How did it get inside you, Jack?" asked Ianto.**

**Jack shook his head. "I'm not sure. They can live inside their hosts for months, undetected." He thought for a moment. "Maybe when I was on the Valiant. God knows what they did to me on there." He closed his eyes. "I think I'm gonna be sick."**

**Jack leaned over the edge of the table and threw up into a bowl that Owen gave him. He dry heaved for what seemed an age before laying back against to pillow.**

**"Feeling better?" asked Owen, taking the bowl away.**

**Jack just nodded.**

**"Does it leave anything behind?" Ianto asked, coming back to stand next to Jack.**

"**I'm not sure. If it's not in our data base, we won't know. I've only heard about it. Never actually came across one…until now." Jack clicked his tongue against his teeth. "We'll just have to wait and see."**

**Ianto looked concerned. **

**Jack took his hand in both of his. "It'll be fine. It can't kill me," he smiled. "The worse I'll get is another headache."**

**"What if it's moved?" He looked at Owen. "Did you get it all?"**

**Owen nodded.**

**"You are a pessimist, Ianto Jones. Look on the bright side."**

**"Is there one, Jack?"**

**Jack frowned, taking in the pale features of his lover. "There has to be. I'm invincible."**

**"But we're not." Ianto said, his eyes lowered.**

**"He's right, Jack. If it get's to one of us..." **

**Jack got off the table and leaned against the wall by the steps. "I don't want that." He turned to Owen. "Isolate me as well. Until we know what we're dealing with."**

**"Jack..." protested Ianto.**

**Jack cut him off. "It's the only way to keep you all safe." He eyed the young Welshman. "Either that, or I instruct the computer to do a complete lockdown without all of you here."**

**"No!" **

"**Then please, do as I ask. It might only be for a day or two."**

**Ianto sighed.**

**Owen moved in front of Jack and they both walked towards the stairs and the isolation chamber.**

**Jack stopped. "Not you," he said to Ianto. "You stay here, where I know you're safe." He smiled at Ianto. "Owen has done this before, you haven't."**

"**But, Jack…."**

"**No!"**

**Owen stood back while Jack walked off towards the isolation room.**

**Ianto could only stand and watch them go.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Owen watched as Jack walked into the isolation room and sit on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Jack," he said, as he locked the room, taking the key.

Jack smiled sadly. "Take care of my team, Owen. Especially Ianto."

"You can do that, Jack. You'll be fine in a few hours, you'll see."

Jack just shook his head.

Owen walked back up to the main Hub area. The rest of the team were waiting for him.

"What now?" asked Tosh, looking to Owen.

"We find out what we can about the worm," said Ianto.

They looked at him.

"We can sit around doing nothing. We have to find out where it came from and what it can do." He turned to Owen. "Kill the one we have and do an autopsy on it. See how it works." To Tosh. "Go through our data base. Every planet. Every species we know. There has to be something, somewhere about it."

"What do you want me to do, Ianto?" asked Gwen.

"Pray," replied Ianto, turning to walk up to Jack's office. "I'll be on Jack's computer. Maybe there's a log of places he's visited." He shrugged. "I don't know what else to suggest."

Owen smiled. "You're doing great, mate. Jack'd be proud of you."

Ianto carried on up to Jack's office, closing the door. Once closed, he leaned against it as tears rolled down his youthful face.

"Oh, Jack."

Jack started to pace around the room. He Hated being cooped up, reminded him too much of the Valiant. He began to think about the boring worm. Where had he picked it up? He shook his head with frustration, sitting back on the bed.

After a few minutes, Ianto made his way to Jack's desk and sat down in front of the computer. He knew Jack's password, so logged on.

Going through all of Jack's files, Ianto didn't find anything that would lead him to the origin of the worm. Then he heard Tosh squeal.

"Yes! Ianto, I've found it."

Ianto ran to the door and down the stairs.

"Where is it from?" he asked her.

"Sielcon 4. It's a parasite. It was eradicated about a millennia ago." She turned to Ianto."I'm going down to see Jack," Ianto told them.

Then he was gone.

Jack was pacing again when Ianto reached the isolation room.

"What do you know about Sielcon 4, Jack?"

Jack frowned, then raised an eyebrow. "I was there with the Doctor, the old one, about 200 years ago. Why?"

"That's were the worm came from. They got rid of it. It's a parasite."

"You can say that again."

"That's where you must have picked it up."

"200 years ago?"

"You said it lays dormant for years sometimes."

"Why now?"

Ianto just shrugged. "I don't know the answer to that, Jack. I was hoping you did."

"Ianto?" Gwen's voice in Ianto's ear piece.

"Yes, Gwen?"

"You better get up here right away. I think we have another worm."

Ianto looked at Jack. "We might have another one."

"Go," Jack said.

Ianto just nodded and left.

Owen was holding Gwen and Tosh away from him. Ianto entered the Hub and saw the Torchwood doctor holding a scalpel.

"What's happening?"

"I have one of those worm things in my hand. I need to cut it out." Owen smiled at Ianto. "Can you do me the honours and grab a beaker. Same as before."Ianto got a beaker, while Owen cut his hand open and took out the worm. He placed it in the beaker, while Ianto put the lid on.

"The other one is dead, but I haven't dissected it yet. That's your job," he told the young Welshman.

"Me? I…."

"You can do it."

Ianto sighed, taking a deep breath.

"But first, follow me down to the isolation room. Wait until I call out that I'm inside and come lock the door. Keys over there," he pointed to the cabinet.

With a nervous hand, Owen stitched himself up and put a bandage around his hand.

"Jack's gonna have company." Owen turned to Tosh. "Better find out what you can about the worm."

Ianto frowned. "Do you know something we don't? Did Jack tell you something?"

"It's what he didn't tell me that worries me."

Owen bid hi farewells and headed down to the isolation room followed by Ianto.

Jack was not surprised to see Owen. They exchanged knowing smiles and Owen went into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Ianto!"

Ianto appeared seconds later, locking the door.

"There is a rare plant that grew on Sielcon 4. The worms fed on it. When the plants were all gone, they took to living in the inhabitants of the planet. They converted their hosts into a juice that they could drink. Basically, they were living drinks machines," Jack smiled. "Taken down by a worm."

"What do you mean?" asked Ianto. Taken down. You can't die, you said so."

"If it goes into my brain, it will suck it dry. I'll come back, but the process will be repeated over and over. I'll never leave this room again."

"What about me?" asked Owen.

Jack shook his head. "You should be okay. It only got into your hand. If it doesn't swell, you should be okay."

Ianto looked horrified. "There has to be something we can do."

"There isn't. I'm sorry."

Ianto turned to leave and then stopped, looking back over his shoulkder at Jack. "I won't stop until I find a cure." Then he was gone.

Owen turned to Jack. "He really does love you, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

A tear slipped down Jack's face.

"Maybe too much."


	3. Chapter 3

**TI Chapter 3**

**Ianto spent most of the afternoon down in the archives, looking up Sielcon 4.**

**It was a very quiet, unassuming Planet. It's people were farmers, not warriors and had been for thousands of years. The boring worms just appeared there one year. They were though to have arrived on Space Craft bringing in seeds and other agricultural items. Slowly they multiplied until they ate every Balacus bush they could find. As new ones grew, so they ate them and their roots, until there were no more. All the seeds for the bush had been used. Without food, most of the worms died. Then by chance, one imbedded itself in a Sielconian. It hibernated for years, until it grew accustomed to it's host. Then it started to drink it from the inside out, draining it dry, before moving on to the next one. As it divided and multiplied, so it inhabited more Sielconians. So many of their people were killed in this manner, that they kept all new borns isolated from their parents, to grow up as new citizens, worm free.**

**Over a number of years, the worms were eradicated and Sielcon 4 was clear of the worm completely and had been for the last 150 years. **

**Ianto read on….**

**A worm can divide a million times in it's lifetime.**

**Ianto sighed.**

**The average worm can suck a body dry in just over a year.**

**It was in Jack's brain. It could take hours, not a year.**

**Armed with this new information, Ianto went to see Jack and Owen. **

"**It divides," Ianto told them. "If any is left behind, it keeps going. I can take a year to drain the host of fluids."**

"**Nice one, Ianto." said Owen, screwing up his face.**

"**Jack doesn't think it had time to divide, do you Jack?"**

"**No. It left me and a cell went into Owen. He cut it out. There's about a less than 1% chance that it had time to divide." Jack moved away from Owen. "Leave now, before this thing has a chance to divide and move."**

**Ianto unlocked the door and Owen walked out. Closing the door, Ianto put his hand against it. Jack walked over, placing his hand on the glass opposite Ianto's.**

"**We won't stop until you're out of there." He promised.**

"**I know."**

**Then Owen and Ianto left.**

**Once back in the autopsy room, Owen carried out the examination on the dead worm.**

"**It's fascinating!" Exclaimed Owen. "You can see all the cells under a microscope."**

"**Can you find out how to stop it?"**

**Owen looked up. "I can get it out of Jack's brain, but we can't be sure I'll remove it all. We could be operating on him forever."**

"**Not what Ianto wanted to here, Owen," said Gwen, moving to stand beside Ianto.**

"**Sorry, Ianto."**

**Ianto smiled. "I'll make us some coffee and we need to eat."**

**Ianto took the beaker away that the worm had been put into. Putting it on the side, he turned on the coffee machine. Picking up the beaker, he put a little water in the bottom and washed it out with bleach. As the bleach touched the inside of the beaker, mixing with the water, the inside turned to slime.**

"**Owen, put a mixture of water and bleach on it."**

"**What?"**

"**Bleach and water. You have both there don't you?"**

"**Yeah…."**

"**Then do it!"**

**Owen got the water and bleach, pouring it over the worm. It began to disintegrate, turning to slime.**

"**Are you saying that I should inject bleach into Jack's brain?"**

**Ianto nodded.**

"**It will kill the worm."**

"**And Jack along with it."**

**Ianto smiled. "But Jack will come back, the worm won't." **


	4. Chapter 4

TI Chapter 4

Owen prepared a large syringe with bleach diluted in a small amount of water. Ianto watched patiently.

"Do you think he'll sit still while I do this?"

"He will if he wants rid of the worm," replied Ianto.

Owen walked towards the stairs, leading down to the isolation rooms.

Ianto stopped Owen. "I'm going with you."

"It won't be pretty, Ianto. Do you really wanna watch Jack die in agony?"

Ianto closed his eyes and sighed. "No, but I need to be there for him."

Owen understood all to well. He wanted to be there for Laura at the end.

"Okay, let's go."

As they approached the isolation room that Jack was in, Ianto stopped.

Owen again, looked at him.

"Changed your mind?"

"No. I want to do it."

"Inject bleach into Jack's brain?"

"Yes."

Owen didn't argue, he just passed the syringe to Ianto. "I'll show you where to put it in."

Ianto took it off Owen, smiling sadly. "Thanks."

"Are you sure you wanna do this?"

Putting the key in the door, Ianto nodded, then pushed the door open.

Jack was lying on the bed, looking as if he were sleeping.

"Found a cure yet?" he joked.

"Yes," said Ianto.

Jack opened his eyes and sat up, putting his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. "Tell me you're not kiddin'."

"I'm not kidding," said Ianto, showing Jack the syringe.

"And where pray are you intending to stick that?" He laughed.

Ianto looked at Owen and then back at Jack. "In your brain."

"My brain," he laughed again. "You gonna suck it out?"

"No. Turn it to slime."

"How?"

"Bleach," said Owen. "Ianto was cleaning the beaker we put that first worm in. You know how OCD he is." Owen laughed nervously. "Well, he used bleach. It turned the residue of the worn to slime. Then we tried it on the dead worm. Same effect….slime."

"You're turning my brain to mush?"

"Yes, to kill the worm."

"That's gonna hurt."

Ianto looked at his hand. "Yes."

"Do it." Jack sat back down on the bed. "Now, Ianto."

Owen stepped forward and put his hand on Jack's head. He pointed to a spot just at the base of the skull. "You need to push it in here and straight up as far as you can go. Push the plunger in slowly and all the way. Withdraw it slowly, too."

Ianto nodded. "Sorry, Jack."

Jack smiled. "It's okay."

Ianto slowly pushed the syringe into Jack. He felt Jack cringe and almost stopped.

"Keep going," encouraged Owen.

Ianto closed his eyes for a second and sighed, then carried on.

A few minutes later, it was done.

Owen helped Jack to lie down and he and Ianto watched as Jack began to writhe in agony. Froth came out of his mouth. His eyes flew open and then closed, his body lay still in death.

Tears rolled down Ianto's cheeks. Owen patted him on the back and left the room. Ianto knelt beside the bed, taking Jack's lifeless hand in both of his. He remained there until, four hours later, Jack took an agonising breath.

"Jack!"

"Ianto?"

"I'm here, Jack."

"Has it gone?"

"Let's go up and get you scanned. We'll know then."

Ianto helped Jack to his feet and up to the main Hub, where the scanner was.

Owen rushed to help them.

"Scan me, Owen."

Lifting Jack's hand, Owen put it on the scanner.

Jack had his eyes closed. He didn't want to look. The next thing he knew, Ianto was turning him. Giving him a fierce hug.

"It's gone, Jack! It's all gone!"

Jack wrapped his arms around the younger man, kissing him.

"Good job, Ianto," said Owen.

They all began to laugh, a tear rolling down Jack's face.

"I really thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life in the isolation room."

"Never," said Ianto. "Not as long as I'm alive."

THE END


End file.
